77 LTD II

[ekrampitzjr]

Some later FE engines had those nylon teeth too. My stepfather's '72 F-100 had a 390 that jumped timing for that reason at around 100K miles.

The old mechanic down the road who knew Fords diagnosed the no-start problem immediately and installed replacement aftermarket all-metal timing gears.

With the new metal gears we didn't notice any increase in noise from the engine.

 

[bobbywalter]

First, go get some friggin' jack stands, they'll be cheaper than getting crushed.
Those flat chains used to be called silent chains and they always stretched something awful, as the engine turns the cam snaps back and forth and will soon peel those nylon teeth off the cam gear and jump timing. Pontiacs and Ford 460's used to jump timing at around 40k, small block Chevys would often jump in the mid 30's, but everything had excessive slack. I always use a double roller chain in everything I build, when I built the new engine for my Mustang in 2009, I resused the Ford Motorsport timing set from the engine I built in 1992 and it's still in there.

put the blocks the right way and they are fine with wood on top....just stack like you do when you lay them with mortar. no metal to block...always wood on top. usually fasten a block that drops in the hole to hold a 2x8 in place on top.


i been lincoln logging...or jenga for my whole life with wood....

holds up the whole world in the coal and salt mines.


of course best practice on solid surface is with jack stands....out in the goo....not so much.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Im only using one block under each tire...stuck under the tires facing front to back. Its not going anywhere.

I have stands but i used the blocks incase i need the stands for other stuff

EDIT-...

Ive always used cinder blocks in this manner...figured if they would hold up a house trailer theyll hold a car. After googleing maybe its a better idea to use the ramps i got. I didnt realize it was dangerous. Good call.

 

[19Walt93]

put the blocks the right way and they are fine with wood on top....just stack like you do when you lay them with mortar. no metal to block...always wood on top. usually fasten a block that drops in the hole to hold a 2x8 in place on top.


i been lincoln logging...or jenga for my whole life with wood....

holds up the whole world in the coal and salt mines.


of course best practice on solid surface is with jack stands....out in the goo....not so much.

Solid wooden blocks are way better than cinder blocks, but jack stands are adjustable. And cheaper than a crushed rib cage.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Solid wooden blocks are way better than cinder blocks, but jack stands are adjustable. And cheaper than a crushed rib cage.

I got some steel ramps as well as some big homemade wooden ones (basically 4x6s nailed togther).

Stand would be fine on the rear but up front theres no real good place to put them. The front suspension arms are curved and with the back end still on the ground its angled to much to go under the frame.

 

[bobbywalter]

Solid wooden blocks are way better than cinder blocks, but jack stands are adjustable. And cheaper than a crushed rib cage.

yes sir...absolutely.
i cant see anybody arguing against that. and i was only stating that there is indeed a safe way to use blocks...and reminding rusty to mind the orientation of them to maximize safety.

in the garage primarily we use jackstands....various sizes and types depending on rig...as the concrete is decent...


death.....its always waiting for us... i never looked into the numbers but would not be surprised if mishandling of cinderblocks in relation to car maintenance was top ten.



cinder blocks do take knowledge of what they can do and how they can be utilized into account...so i can see where i should not consider to recommend this...at least to inexperienced people.. rusty is not in that window.


of course...you can do everything right and still die.


you can easily knock a car off jack stands when they are near their limit, or even a hoist for that matter. done it too many times reefing on shit with a 5 foot cheater bar. in these cases for the most part i use solid blocking....generally its just wood...solidly fastened. or a combination depending on conditions.


out in the goo....off road...swapping out a trans or complete axle assembly or engine....surface area is a big factor. normal jackstands are not the best thing..


its been a serious topic with young bob....as we are constantly on jackstands for various reasons between the vehicles he uses....i actually bought a proper transmission jack as well....out of concern for that...and i am really considering a two post lift because its always in the back of my tiny little mind how lucky i am to be alive...

 

[Shran]

You can never be too safe under a car, I look back on some stuff we did and it just gives me the chills. This picture in particular-

3 ton jackstands halfway up to do a TTB lift... no frickin way would I be under that truck today. I guess I lived to tell the tale but it SEEMED fine at the time. I remember the truck being a little wobbly.

My buddy and I evaded death one other time when removing a rear axle from a full size Bronco, we had not one but TWO high lift jacks under the rear bumper after the axle was out and they both collapsed at the same time. This all happened while the truck was on a trailer and we were standing behind it holding the jacks... scared the shit out of us both, damn lucky we didn't lose our feet or legs.

Stay safe

 

[sgtsandman]

In the gravel driveway, jack stands by themselves aren’t safe. I found that out the hard way. Thankfully, I wasn’t under the vehicle at the time but I did have to patch a hole in the floor where the jack stand punched through as the vehicle fell over.

Now, everything gets 3/4” plywood under it as a base, including the floor jack.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

You can never be too safe under a car, I look back on some stuff we did and it just gives me the chills. This picture in particular-

3 ton jackstands halfway up to do a TTB lift... no frickin way would I be under that truck today. I guess I lived to tell the tale but it SEEMED fine at the time. I remember the truck being a little wobbly.

My buddy and I evaded death one other time when removing a rear axle from a full size Bronco, we had not one but TWO high lift jacks under the rear bumper after the axle was out and they both collapsed at the same time. This all happened while the truck was on a trailer and we were standing behind it holding the jacks... scared the shit out of us both, damn lucky we didn't lose our feet or legs.

Stay safe

Honestly 20 years ago i woulda crawled under it with nothing but a jack.

Its weird we are having this discussion....for some reason this is the only car ive ever had weird premintions (sp?) About crawling under. Maybe cause it sits so low? I dont know. But either way thanks for pointing out my error. I was ignorant to the danger of cement blocks

 

[bilbo]

Stand would be fine on the rear but up front theres no real good place to put them. The front suspension arms are curved and with the back end still on the ground its angled to much to go under the frame.

Have to be careful with this. I was replacing struts on my sister's Focus, and the rear end was up on my stands. While removing one of the bolts near the bottom of the strut the body of my impact wrench pushed the jack stand a little bit. It slid on the concrete floor to a spot that was sloped, then continued to slide and let the car down on my head. It was pinned between the car and my creeper; letting my body weight off the creeper allowed the head area to lower enough for me to get out. It pressed hard on my right temple and messed up the tendons/muscles there and it hurt bad to open up my jaw and chew, but thankfully that was about it. They said everything looked fine on the imaging but since then I get real bad vertigo if I have allergies or infection messing with my sinuses. Glad I'm still here to hopefully think further ahead next time.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Update number- Hell if i know

Got the old gears and chain off...

Even managed to save the oil slinger...

Old cam gear wasnt as bad as i thought when i compared it to the new one...

However i did not get the new set installed as planned because i dropped the cam bolt inside the friggin oil pan...

Sooo i drained the oil...

Looks like 2.9L oil. Full of what im hoping is condensation (it has sat since 2006 in a non temp controlled garage)

Oil pan is full of milkshake....

(You can see the end of the bolt to the right of the pic....i broke my magnet working on the yazoo the other day...dont ask)

Next steps gonna be dropping the pan and cleaning it out good...supposdly it can be done in car after lifting motor up. We'll see.

Im hoping the rest of the motor aint rusted up. It spun free by hand. Im going to pull the heads and intake once i get this squared away. Just to check things over.

Oh and @19Walt93 i ditched the cement blocks...

More to come.

 

[19Walt93]

Attaboy for getting rid of the blocks.
We all used to have small wooden blocks in our toolbox that we'd stick between the motor mounts and the frame to hold the engine up when pulling oil pans. I think they were 1 1/4 or 1 1/2 on a side. If it wasn't raining I go out and look, they're still in my second to bottom drawer. If you have the pan off I'd replace the 2 piece rear seal while you're there.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Attaboy for getting rid of the blocks.
We all used to have small wooden blocks in our toolbox that we'd stick between the motor mounts and the frame to hold the engine up when pulling oil pans. I think they were 1 1/4 or 1 1/2 on a side. If it wasn't raining I go out and look, they're still in my second to bottom drawer. If you have the pan off I'd replace the 2 piece rear seal while you're there.

I was kinda planning on it. Depends how much of a bitch it is. Ive never done one in car.

 

[19Walt93]

I was kinda planning on it. Depends how much of a bitch it is. Ive never done one in car.

The lower half of the rear seal is easy, to get the upper half out tap it on one end with a hammer and punch- just be careful of the crank journal- then grip it with needle nose pliers and slide it out.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

The lower half of the rear seal is easy, to get the upper half out tap it on one end with a hammer and punch- just be careful of the crank journal- then grip it with needle nose pliers and slide it out.

What about the new one? Mostly concerned with access

Ive done them but only on an engine stand lol